Happy Holidays!

 Well, I’m finally over my cold/sinus infection, but Dennis is starting his second round of antibiotics. This stuff has really been rough! Thankfully, the rest of the family had light cases and Kacey managed to avoid it altogether. I'm still not 100%, but I'm pretty much back to my normal schedule. I was finally able to start exercising again last week. With all of the business around Thanksgiving, then being sick for 2 weeks, I hadn't really done any for about a month! Not good!

Dennis has killed 3 deer so far. His trip to Cooper Lake was a total bust. However he killed a young 5 point at Abilene State Park. He also got a spike at his regular hunting place. He hopes to go out again this week to try for a doe. We still want to have enough to share with all of the kids. We met up with Stephen’s family on Saturday to take them the last deer he killed. Stephen ran a marathon in Irving that morning, so we met them in The Colony for a quick visit and meat exchange. It was good to see them, even if for just a few minutes. That little Rosie is growing so fast! It was also good to see Stephen in person after his run. He looked great for having just run 26 miles! I’m really proud of him!

While we were waiting to meet up with them, we explored the new Scheels sporting goods store over in The Colony. Dennis was familiar with them, having ordered stuff from them online before. Ricky had told us about the new store in “our area” and how impressive it was, so we decided it was a good time to check them out. It was worth the drive! After meeting up with Stephen’s family, we headed over to the Nebraska Furniture Mart, which was practically next door. It was our first time to go there, too. It was overwhelming! Since we just finished our house remodel, we didn’t need anything. So we just looked around a bit. I did have the opportunity to try out their Adirondack chairs. I’ve been wanting Dennis to make me one for the front yard, but I’ve never actually sat in one before. I wanted to try one out to make sure it was comfortable. Well, I am sold! I love them! Dennis knew that they sold kits for making them at Rockler, and there was a store just up the freeway a bit. So we ran by there to look around a little and buy the template/instruction kit. He is planning to make a pair of them. They will be great for when the kids are all here. I love to sit outside and watch them but usually have to stand around or drag out our camping chairs. They will also encourage me to spend more time outdoors. I’m hoping he can stain them a color to match our front door. He’ll be using a different type of wood, so it won’t match exactly, but should be able to get it pretty close.

The previous Saturday was our girls’ day out to see The Nutcracker. We met up for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. After a light lunch, we all shared a piece of Oreo cheesecake (selected by Gracie). It was delicious! By time we finished, it was time to head over to Bass Hall. We had great seats! The other time that I'd been to see the Nutcracker, we had seats in the nosebleed section...couldn't see things very well from there! This time we were close enough to see everything very well! Mandy got a booster for Gracie, so she was could see as well as the rest of us. She also had a cute little pair of pink binoculars that she used to get some real closeups. It was so fun watching the performance with her. She loved it!

On the 7^th, we went to Sheila and Matt’s for supper. Then we headed over to Nam’s school to watch him in their 4^th grade program. Nam had a short speaking part and did great! I’m so thankful that we live close enough to be able to go watch him.

I babysat Archer twice last week. He has grown up so much since he became a big brother! He is speaking more clearly and putting more words together in simple sentences. This is such a fun age! Yesterday his family all came over for church, then spent the day with us. I got a lot of snuggle time with Kacey. 😊 She is such a sweet baby! I am so thankful to be able to enjoy having a grandbaby so close by!

My supply of homemade vanilla is getting short, so I made up another batch last week. It takes about 3 months for it to “gin”, but I have enough to last me until then. That was one (and maybe the only) good thing to come out of the pandemic. It was so hard to find pure vanilla in the stores that it prompted me to learn to make my own. It’s still not cheap, but it is less costly than ready made....and it is good!

I haven’t done a lot of handwork lately. I didn’t do much of anything those 2 weeks that I was sick. Once I started feeling better I crocheted a snowman and a basketful of “snowballs” to decorate the hearth. I’m still waiting for some buttons and beads to finish the details, but he is already a nice addition to my winter adornments. I’m still working on my knitted scarf…about halfway through with it. I’m also about to finish up my 2023 temperature blanket. It has been fun. I look forward to having it to look back at to remember what the climate was like this year.

My winter rag quilt and pillows

My snowman and snowballs

This Thursday Diane, Sheila, Nam and I are going to the Palace Theatre in Grapevine to watch “White Christmas”. I look forward to it every year! We are going to the matinee performance this year, so I won’t be doing a sleepover with Diane. Things have been pretty busy lately, anyway, so I’m not really up to that right now. I still haven’t gotten my stamina back from being sick. I wear out pretty quickly. I am looking forward to it though!

It will just be me and Dennis here on Christmas day. I still want to make some homemade green chili and cheese tamales. I normally only do them once a year, and I really don’t want to miss out on them! I may put some in the freezer for using sometime when the kids are over. We all love them!

Our regular 5^th Sunday potluck/guest speaker happens to fall on New Year's Eve this month. So I decided to do a little party instead of our normal potluck. I love having a charcuterie board and finger foods! Teddy will be our guest speaker, so his family will be here. Faithful Diane is also planning to come. I’m hoping we might pick up a few extras, too. Nam is planning to come spend the night with us that evening, then his family will come over NY day for our annual seafood boil. Mmmm! One of my favorite get-togethers!  I love this time of year!

I hope all of you have a joyous Christmas and New Year!

Lu 2:8-11 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (NKJV)

So much to be thankful for!

 Of course, I have to start with the most recent (and best) news...we have a new grandbaby! Kacey Reagan was born this morning at 2:00, weighing in at 7 pounds 4 ounces and a beautiful head of dark hair. Momma and baby are both doing well, after 2 weeks of fits and starts. She is the best birthday present her momma could ever ask for! And what a wonderful way to end Thanksgiving weekend!

Archer meeting his new sister 😍

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this was the first time in 3 years that our whole family (except Matt's 2 oldest) was able to come together for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I loved it! Since Leanne was in town awaiting the birth of Kacey, she and Joe joined us. Lots of food, lots of laughs and fun with all of the kiddos! I really enjoyed getting to spend some quality time with little Rosie. She is such a sweetheart! She shared her love and sweetness with everyone without prejudice. 

I had bought a new game awhile back, hoping to get everyone to play while we were together. Shepherd found it and asked everyone to participate. Not everyone played, but we all enjoyed the antics of those who did. The purpose of the game was to NOT laugh while someone acted out a certain ridiculous scenario. My 2 boys were particularly skilled at getting laughs from the crowd. Matt and Shepherd were both good at maintaining their composure. Sheila and I were totally hopeless! Just knowing that I wasn't supposed to laugh was enough to do me in! Good times!

The day after Thanksgiving, we celebrated Archer's 2nd birthday. He got some great stuff and really enjoyed the day. Even though the cake that I made for the party wasn't one of my best attempts (I struggled making anything turn out right last week!), he still enjoyed it. 

Dennis killed a nice 10 point early in the month. After we butchered it, he was nice enough to hold off hunting anymore until after Thanksgiving. Our spare refrigerator is used for both aging deer AND holding overflow during family gatherings...can't do both at once though! He left this afternoon to go on a state park hunt that he was drawn for. He'll be gone until Friday and could possibly bag 2-3 deer. He has already promised anything he kills to others, since it will be extra (outside his tag limit). He has another state park hunt next week. Plus he still has 4 tags left on his license. Hopefully we will have our freezers full, plus fill the kids' freezers by the end of the season.

I've just been working on small projects this month. I made 3 bowl cozies that work great for heating up soup and leftovers in the microwave. I also made a rag pumpkin for Nam (at his request) and 4 crocheted pumpkins. I still have the scarf that I'm knitting...haven't really had much time for working on it lately with everything else going on. I hope to finish it up in the next week or two. 

In 11 days, I'm planning to take my girls to watch The Nutcracker at Bass Hall. Diane will be filling in for Amber, since Kacey came early. I can't wait to watch Gracie! She loves the music from The Nutcracker and already has her ensemble picked out for the event. 

This week, since Dennis is out of town, I'm hoping to just rest and recuperate. Several of us developed colds after the long weekend. I've been sneezing and blowing my nose for 2 days. I don't want to take a chance on sharing it with the new baby, so other than going to "meet" her this morning, I'm going to keep my distance until my symptoms clear up some. Archer is another one who came down with this bug, but so far, he just has a snotty nose. He coughed one time when he first woke up this morning. Hopefully he won't develop the cough that he usually does when he gets a cold. 

I hope the rest of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving as much as I did. Always remember to find something to be thankful for and not take our abundant blessings for granted!

Ps 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. (NKJV)

Time for Fun!

 Dare I say it? Our house is finished (for the most part). There is still a little trim work to finish up and the sliding barn door to do, but for all practical purposes, we are DONE! It feels so good! We are loving our new carpet. The odor was very strong at first (gave me bad vertigo), but the weather was so nice, we just opened the windows for a few days to let it air out. It has been fun watching Archer on it! He'll throw himself down on it and just roll around. Haha! Here are a few pictures of the finished product:

master bedroom

living and dining room

other end of living room

As most of you know, Frieda went into the hospital on the 12th with an intestinal blockage...her second one in 4 months. She ended up having to have surgery on the 18th. She is still struggling a lot in her recovery. The last report I read showed her making some significant progress. Hopefully she has finally turned a corner in her recovery. It has been a long hard road! Please continue to keep her and her family in your prayers!

As far as my crafting goes, I finished my winter rag quilt. I have it stored away until after Thanksgiving (still using my fall quilt until then). I only have one more rag quilt left on my "to-do" list...my warm weather one. I'll probably put it off until January. This one makes me 11 for the year. I sure am enjoying making them!

I also made a "chenille" pillow cover. It didn't turn out like I had hoped, but maybe it will continue to fray as it "ages". It is supposed to look like chenille, but it doesn't. Oh well, it was fun to try!

I have started doing on online knitting course, through Craftsy, and am learning a lot! Before I had taught myself using the book "Knitting for Dummies". The best that I could manage was knitted dishrags, though. I LOVE knitted dishrags, but I also thought it would be nice to be able to make more than that. So far, in my course, I've made some fingerless mittens and a waffle stitch cowl. I'm really enjoying it and learning a lot more about the process. I'm hoping my skills improve to the point that I can make a large project. Right now, I'm working on a scarf to match my mittens...just kinda "winging" it. I think my next class project will be a cap.

cowl

fingerless mittens

We hosted our 5th Sunday potluck this past Sunday. I had some hunks of meat that I usually use for making jerky that I needed to use up, so I ground them into hamburger and made up a big batch of chili. Everyone else brought "fixins" to go with it. We had a small group, but we really enjoyed the day. Between Andy and Sherry and Thiess and Gina, there were many interesting and lively stories told!

The next morning we got up and packed and headed north to Hochatown, OK. The weather has been quite chilly, which we are really enjoying! Tuesday morning we drove the Talimena Scenic Byway. It was a beautiful drive. The colors weren't "prime", but they were nice...much more color than we've been seeing at home (which is pretty much nil). We had lunch at Little Italy in Mena, AR. It was really good, and we had plenty of leftovers to bring back for another meal or two. Then last night we drove into Beaver's Bend State Park to look for deer. We weren't disappointed! We did a quick drive through, then went back this morning to go through the museum and drive around some more. We went down to Broken Bow for lunch and did a little shopping. Among some other things, I found and bought my new favorite coffee mug! 

pond where we are staying

one of the deer we saw at Beaver's Bend

cypress trees along the river

small cascade in BBSP

our cabin

Beaver's Bend Lake

We plan to pack up and leave in the morning. It has been a fun and relaxing trip, but as usual, we are missing home...especially now that we have it fixed the way we want it! We have the Highway Meeting and a baby shower for Kacey to attend this weekend, too. It's amazing how busy we stay for a couple of old retired folks!

Enjoy this wonderful fall weather and the everyday joys that come your way!

Ps 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: (NKJV)

Fall Fun!

 Fall has finally arrived! Today was our first really cool day of the season. I loved being able to wear a sweater again after such a blazing hot summer!

We've enjoyed several visits with Archer and his family. I love being close enough to babysit when needed! We even had another sleepover last night so his mom and dad could have an anniversary date night. Even though he was feeling bad with a cold, he was SO good! After supper, we went to Atwood's (his favorite store), then drove around looking for deer. The cooler temperatures had them out in force. Archer loved seeing all of them (daddies, mommas and babies!). Today when Rick and Amber came back to get him, we took him out to a pumpkin patch west of town. He rode the pony (for about 30 seconds), played in a corn tub with a dump truck, and played kickball with all of us. He would have enjoyed it even more if he'd felt better, but it was fun, and we got some cute pictures.

He had a blowout while shopping, so that's why he's pantless!

Shepherd's 9th birthday was this week, so last weekend we drove to Paris to celebrate with him. I made some Black Panther cookies to take. (The kids always expect some kind of cookies from Granny.)  It was great to visit with all of them and celebrate Shepherd. I kind of neglected the other kids more than usual because I was holding Rosie as much as I could. She is such a sweet baby! Only getting to see her every couple of months makes me feel like I'm missing out on so much. So I soaked in as much time with her as I could! I can see so much of Stephen in her. We really enjoyed our visit!

The weekend before we went to Paris, we took Nam out for the day. We took him out to eat lunch, then went to Hobby Lobby to shop for rockets. When Stephen was young, he loved shooting rockets with his dad. We figured Nam was about the right age to start. He loved it! We bought a 3-pack and put together one. Then we all went out to the soccer fields to shoot it off. He and his dad have since shot the other two. I love it when the rocket blasts off. Nam gets SO excited and whoops SO loud! I imagine we'll be doing many more over the coming months and years.

Dennis has almost finished our bedroom. The walls are textured and painted. He hung the light fixture and put in all of the electrical outlets and switches today (instead of accompanying us to the pumpkin patch).  I've made some curtains, which we should be able to hang soon. Dennis has to do the window sills and crown molding next week before our carpet is installed on Friday. Then we can move back into our bedroom! He'll still need to build the sliding barn door, (that will separate the bathroom and bedroom) but there's no hurry for that. After the carpet is installed, baseboards will go down, and we'll be through! Whoop! We are SO ready to have this remodel behind us!

I am currently working on a winter rag quilt for me. It is 3 layers of flannel, so it is very soft and warm. I'll switch it out with my fall quilt when the weather starts getting cold in December. I already had made a snowman rag pillow last year, so I just needed one more pillow cover to go with it. I'd seen examples of people making chenille quilts and was very intrigued. I didn't want a whole quilt, so I decided to do my second pillow cover using the technique. I can't wait to see how it turns out. 

We have a short get-away planned for the end of the month. We've been saying for months that as soon as the house was finished, we were going SOMEWHERE!. We don't really have time for a big trip right now, so we'll just head up to Broken Bow for a few nights. It will be nice just to get away and relax for a little bit. We'll try to take a REAL vacation next spring. We haven't decided where yet, but we are still wanting to go back and do the Blue Ridge Parkway drive. So that may be our destination. I also am planning on going on a Caribbean cruise with Diane and a few others the end of January. I'm really looking forward to that! It will be my first. Dennis isn't the least bit interested in going, so he'll stay home. He has a couple of hunting trips planned for this fall that he won drawings for (state park hunts). 

Well, that's what's been going on around here. I hope all of you are enjoying these nice fall days. Take care and be kind!

Ps 116:7 Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

 (NKJV)

Hello September!

 The 'ber months are finally here! That means fall is right around the corner. It is still getting to 100 degrees most days, but the extended forecast shows that ending in about a week. Even at 100 degrees, it feels so much better than what we had most of the summer! We even had a really good rain last week, so part of our yard has made a pretty good comeback. (A lot of it is still brown though.) I'm always ready for fall, but this year I'm EXTRA ready!

Dennis successfully got the floating shelves hung in our bathroom, and I love them! He then moved on to our bedroom. We moved all of our bedroom furniture into a climate-controlled storage unit. Then we temporarily moved into the large guest room. We demolished the walls; Dennis redid the wiring (finally finishing up replacing all of the house's old aluminum wiring with copper!), and we got new sheetrock up. He is now doing the "mudding". That is a long process (for Dennis) involving a lot of taping, spreading mud, and sanding...then repeating the process until he is happy with the results. Once he has it the way he wants it, he'll texture and paint, do crown molding and window trim, install electrical plugs and light fixture, then we can buy carpet and have it laid. All that will remain after that is finishing baseboards (where the carpet is laid) and building and installing our sliding barn door leading into the bathroom area. We are SO CLOSE!

Archer came for a sleepover last month...his first with us. He did so well! We really had fun with him. He was good until he first woke up the next morning. He was missing his momma! He didn't cry...he just walked to the front door and stood there looking sad. Once he had breakfast and woke up good, he was fine though.

I made a couple of burp cloths and loveys to go with Kacey's rag quilt. I tried to make the first lovey, made from a chenille bedspread, to look like Winnie the Pooh. It turned out awful! When we showed it to Archer, he was scared of it! 😒 So I made 2 more using minky and fabric from the quilt...just plain bears, not Pooh. They turned out much better!

burp cloths with chenille backing

I'm currently working on a fall rag quilt for myself. I have it over 3/4 done. I hope to finish up this week. Then I plan to make a couple of coordinating pillow covers. It's almost time to get out my fall decor! Here's a sneak peek at the appliqued squares. 

We went to Kyle and Nicole's Friday night for supper to start the Labor Day weekend activities. After visiting with the group and eating way too much, we drove on up to Lake Ray Roberts and stayed the night at the lodge. There was a cool breeze blowing, and it was so peaceful and comfortable! Kay had the room right next to us, so we sat outside and visited for a good while. The next morning we headed over to the park where the pavilion was reserved for the day's activities. It was situated right next to the water, which kept a nice breeze on us all day. We really enjoyed visiting with everyone. I even got to love on a couple of babies, which I ALWAYS enjoy! Dennis developed a bad headache before supper, so we left early to go home. We had to be at Eastside Sunday morning, so that was the end of our Labor Day activities. It was a good weekend, though!

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend! 

Mt 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (KJV)

Busy Summertime! (Lots of fun and a few mishaps)

 We've been blessed with a lot of time with grandkids this summer! June started out with a graduation get-together for Ian and Caleb. We met up with their family, along with the other local Joiners, for pizza and good company. We really enjoyed visiting with everyone, and I loved the new pizza place they selected!

We have babysat Archer a couple of times while his momma went for her prenatal checkups. We are loving having this little guy so close! One Saturday in June, his family came over for a day at the Lake Mineral Wells State Park. Dennis took the boat, so Archer had his first boat ride. He was a little nervous about it but seemed to enjoy it. He absolutely LOVED playing in the water! It was a fun day!

We made a trip to Paris in June to take an antique bed that Dennis had restored for Mandy. I just can't get enough of little Rosie! I love all of my grands, but there is something so special about getting to cuddle a grandbaby! We made another trip over this week to take the boys on a short roadtrip. We basically did the same thing as we did with Nam last year. We picked them up Monday afternoon and drove to our rented cottage in Flint (just south of Tyler). Tuesday was absolutely filled with adventures! We started out touring the rose gardens, which the boys enjoyed more than I expected. (We mainly went there to kill time before the zoo opened.) We got to the Caldwell Zoo as it was opening at 9 am. The next 2 hours were filled with trying to keep up with 2 very excited boys! Dennis was feeling poorly (more about that later), so he rested and went at his own pace, while I chased after the boys. We had a blast!

After lunch, we headed over to the Discovery Science Center. The boys loved it as much as we hoped they would. We enjoyed it, too, for a different reason. We were able to cool off in the air conditioned building and sit on benches while they explored and played! After a couple of hours of fun, we headed back to the cottage for some much needed rest. After an early supper, we found an indoor, glow-in-the-dark putt-putt golf course. That was a blast! We had quite the fun-filled day!

On June 22, the FW Zoo opened their new predator exhibit. So we met up with Matt, Sheila, Nam and Jennifer and Asher and spent the morning enjoying the sights. The day was unseasonably cool, which made it even better. After seeing all of the animals, we all went out for some Mexican food and more visiting.

Nam came for a sleepover the second week of July. We didn't do anything special...just our regular routine with him. As always, we enjoyed our time together!

Diane came over the last week of June for a day of shopping and visiting. I had been working on a rag quilt for her and finished it up just in time to present it to her. I made it lightweight: 2 layers of cotton with flannel sandwiched between. I wanted it to resemble a sunset, so the colors are really pretty. I hope she enjoys it as much as I did making it!

I also did a quilt for Rick and Amber's little girl, who is due December 14. We are so excited to be getting another granddaughter! I still have some matching burp rags and a lovey to make. Hopefully I'll feel like doing those next week. 

If you look closely, you can see Pooh holding a balloon.

We had Ricky and Sheila's families over for a 4th of July cookout. I made homemade ice cream and Dennis grilled some burgers. It was great having all of them together! I am so thankful to be able to get together more often now that Rick's family is close!

We were saddened by the loss of Loita that same week. She was such a special lady! I do believe that she was one of the all time best hostesses that I've ever known. She will be sorely missed. 

Dennis and I both came down with a bad cold the next week. We are still struggling with the aftereffects. I think I am about over it...just some mild sinus stuff left. Dennis is feeling worse and is sure he has a sinus infection. His allergy doctor is sick, too, so he just called him in some antibiotics. Hoping that he feels better soon. Stephen's family has also been struggling with the same (or very similar) thing. He and Mandy both have secondary infections and are on medication. Lots of sickness going around!

Sunday, as we were heading into Whataburger, Dennis miss-stepped and fell on the curb. He landed on his right hand and hyperextended his little finger (all the way back until it layed against the back of his hand). *shudder* He didn't seem to hurt anything else, but his hand was in excruciating pain. He was able to get up and walk into the restaurant and sit down at a booth. Then he kinda blacked out for a minute or two. Scared me! No matter what he did, he couldn't alleviate the pain in his hand. He was white as a sheet and sweating buckets! He wanted to go ahead and try to eat lunch, so I got us our usual, but he could only get in a few bites. Watching him in so much pain made me woozy, and I had to lie down on the bench to keep from passing out! (So embarrassing!) When we finally thought he could walk to the car, I drove him to the ER to see if his hand was broken. Since he is 70 years old and had lost consciousness, they did quite a workup on him...including a head CT, EKG and blood enzymes (to rule out a heart attack). We spent 5 hours in the ER, and the only thing they did for his hand was xray it. (It wasn't broken.) We had planned to go to Paris that afternoon to spend the night, so we could keep the kids while Stephen and Mandy took Rosie to have her tongue-tie procedure done. We didn't get out of the ER until after 6, so we just grabbed a quick supper and went home to recuperate. Dennis's hand quit hurting (on it's own) after being in the ER for an hour or so. It also began swelling and ended up looking like a Mickey Mouse hand! But it never really gave him much trouble, as long as he was careful with it. The swelling is finally going down now. It turned out so much better than it could have!

After we got the boys home yesterday morning, the screw-in plug on Dennis's latest implant fell out. So we cut our visit short and headed to FW to stop by his endodontist's office. They were able to work him in pretty quickly. The doctor had to trim some tissue (which starts "caving in" the hole with nothing there to hold it back) and replace the plug. He also determined that the implant was completely healed and ready for the crown to be made. Dennis will have to get an appointment with our regular dentist to do that. He originally had an appointment with the endodontist in 2 weeks to see if it was ready, so we were able to get that done ahead of schedule. He has sure had a rough couple of weeks!

We had a setback on our home renovation. Dennis was starting to put up my floating shelves in the bathroom, and they wouldn't work. This system has to have walls that are totally level in order to work. Our wall had a slight bow in it. So he had to rip out his brand new wall above the toilet, reinforce it and then re-sheetrock and texture it...making sure to have it totally flat! He got that finished just in time for us to leave on our trip, but with him being sick and his hand still recuperating, I'm not sure when he'll feel like getting back to it. Hopefully next week!

I'm off this morning to have my bone density scan done. Then I need to buy groceries for the weekend. I'm doing Ricky's birthday dinner tomorrow night, then we're hosting a hamburger cookout Sunday after church. So my weekend will be quite busy! Believe me...next week, I am planning on taking things MUCH slower!

Ps 33:20-22 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You. (NKJV)

Texas Hill Country Road Trip

Since Dennis finished up our shower (and we finally got to use it Wednesday morning!), we decided to take a short road trip to relax. We headed out just before lunch on Wednesday and drove down Hwy 16 to Fredericksburg. Although the bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes are gone (for the most part), the late spring/early summer wildflowers were in full bloom. The drive was gorgeous! It was overcast and slightly rainy the whole trip, which made for very pleasant traveling. I had stumbled onto The Peach Tree Inn while looking for a room to reserve. Our room turned out to be half of a duplex on the back side of the property. We had outdoor seating on the back porch, which offered us such a peaceful and beautiful view! There were also a couple of deer who regularly made an appearance in the evening. After unpacking and having a light supper, we relaxed all evening. Dennis went for a drive through the countryside looking for deer, while I stayed in and clipped on the quilt that I'm making him.

Inside of our "cabin"

Our backyard view

Thursday morning, after fixing a big breakfast of bacon, eggs and (canned) biscuits, we drove down to Wildseed Farms. We had been there years ago and loved it. It was a bit of a disappointment this trip. They have downsized their wildflower fields and planted vineyards instead. I still enjoyed looking at the flowers that they had for sale.

A beautifully colored bougainvillea they had

Poppy

From the Wildseed Farm, we drove back into town to tour the Nimitz Museum. We spent a couple of hours looking at all of the exhibits there. It was very interesting! I also enjoyed the serenity of the Japanese Garden back behind it...donated by the Japanese people in honor of Admiral Nimitz. 

Across the road from the Inn where we were staying was a meat smoking plant/deli. So we ordered a couple of sandwiches and took them back to our room for lunch. YUM! Then we spent the afternoon touring the Pioneer Museum. It was SO informative! It told about how Fredericksburg was started in the mid-1800's by a wave of German immigrants looking for a better life in this country. 

This was a trunk that carried all of the goods that a family could fit in it as they traveled from Germany.

a "necessary" chair

various kitchen utensils

honey extractor

wire fence weaving machine

baby swing

After leaving the museum, we drove out to a peach stand we had seen earlier. This year's crop is already available down there, so we bought a box of "seconds". They are SO good! I also bought a pint of local blackberries and a couple jars of locally canned goodies. I was tempted to just eat that for supper, but figured I'd regret it later. 

This morning, we went to The Twisted Sisters Bakery for breakfast, then packed up and headed north. Our neighbor, whom we had spent an hour or more visiting with the night before, had suggested that we might want to drive on the Willow City Loop on our way home. It takes off Hwy 16 about 8 miles north of Fredericksburg and is known for it's wildflowers. I am SO GLAD that he told us about it! The wildflowers weren't the best that we saw on our trip, even though there were areas where they covered the landscape as far as you could see in all directions. They were mostly yellow flowers (like brown eyed Susans and coreopsis). But the vistas were breathtaking! Most of the drive is on private land, so you aren't allowed to park and get out to take pictures. But it was well worth the slight detour!

We stopped for lunch in Llano. We ate at a wonderful little Italian restaurant on the square, which had amazing bread and pizza. It was directly across the street from the courthouse, so I had to get a picture. I love the architecture of so many of Texas' courthouses! 

Since I still didn't have any pictures of the wildflowers that were blooming all alongside the road, I told Dennis to stop at the next good place we came to. It wasn't the prettiest that we'd seen, but it had a good representation of many of the varieties that we'd been enjoying.

white thistle poppies

upright prairie coneflowers

Indian blankets or firewheels

horse mint

This picture doesn't do justice to the lush field of wildflowers!

coreopsis and Indian paintbrushes

such variety and beauty!

We both thoroughly enjoyed our little get-away, but it is good to be home again. Now it is time to move out of our bedroom and do our last remodel project!

Mt 6:28-29 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (NKJV)